D
Garcia will remain a
We will have to
reconsider the future) will the Anvercar of the three
ex- Seychelles Islands, Farquhar Di inches and Aldabra, which
(17250) Dd.897459 250m 12/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Cp.863 (19941) Dd.897300 250m 9/72 G.W.B.Ltd.
Gp.863
are
at present wilded
ling was apart from
the deadentiful.
stat ign on
Allabra;
but it is unlikely that we will be able to girl tom back to Seychelles
iv.
V.
b
i.
ii.
permanent population.
A potential location for
defence facilities which we might wish to provide or reprovide in the Indian Ocean in association with the United States and, in Aldabra, a useful base for scientific research.
Falkland Island Dependencies (FID). There is no permanent population. A potentially important
fishing and krill industry, and also an assured forward logistics base for British Antarctic survey
work in BAT if the Falkland Islands themselves were
to be transferred to Argentina.
St Helena/Ascension Island. The latter, which has nc indigenous population, is an important communications
centre which we share with the United States, who
also have an air base on the island which is used as
a staging post by the RAF; the former is an important relay station in the Diplomatic Wireless network.
Those territories which are in any case likely to have to remain dependent for the foreseeable future
because of external constraints:
Hong Kong. Our freedom of action is limited by the
need to maintain our bilateral relations with China. (See also a.i. above: we would not in any case wish to surrender sovereignty over Hong Kong.).
Gibraltar. Claimed by Spain, but HMG are bound by the Constitution not to surrender sovereignty to another state against the wishes of the population who have at present no incentive or desire to join Spain. In any case we should not surrender sovereignty without an assurance of continued use by the UK and NATO of defence facilities which are
important in the context of NATO and Western defence. Subject to this, however and of course the agree-
ment of the inhabitants the ultimate future of Gibraltar seems to lie naturally in some form of association with Spain. But in the shorter term we are bound by the formal undertaking written into the 1969 Constitution and endorsed by Parliament, that HMG will "never enter into arrangements by which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty
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